SHEESH.
At the beginning of the month, Luke Combs headlined the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival alongside Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band, Lil Wayne and many others, and while some were upset that Combs, who is obviously a country singer, was selected as one of the main performers, I actually think it makes a lot of sense.
He can sell tickets like almost no one else in country, and they tend to put artists on the lineup that aren’t strictly jazz or jazz-adjacent artists. And after seeing his performance of “Bring It On Home To Me” with multi-instrumentalist musician, singer, and songwriter Ivan Neville, the man can hold his own in this genre too… Luke obviously has an incredible voice, and it was on full display here.
Combs shared a performance video from Preservation Hall in New Orleans, Louisiana, where he sang alongside the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, a staple in New Orleans that founded by tuba player Allan Jaffe in the early 1960’s, and the tradition continues with new members to this day. They tour and are an incredibly talented group of musicians, and while maybe somewhat unexpected, this whole thing just works.
Of course, “Bring It On Home to Me” was recorded by soul singer Sam Cooke and released on May 8, 1962. Produced by Hugo & Luigi, and arranged and conducted by René Hall, the song was the B-side to “Having a Party”. It peaked at #2 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Sides chart, and also charted at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. Over the years, it has become a pop standard, and has been covered by tons of artists from many different genres.
Luke is also joined onstage by some of his own band members, and he lets it rip vocally and sounds really incredible. It’s definitely different hearing him backed by a jazz band, but he has the kind of talent to where he really is versatile and can sing anything. It’s such a unique version, and I love the mix of genres going on here.
The fact that everyone on stage is so talented makes it a show-stopping performance, and I can only imagine what it was like to see this in-person… I’d like to think the jazz fans were impressed by this country boy blowing the roof off with his powerhouse voice, and I never knew I even wanted to hear him like this until right now.
There’s something about Luke’s voice that pairs well with this style of music, and I just can’t get over how good this is.
Do yourself a favor and check it out:
Luke has a limited run of shows this year, and he will mostly be headlining festivals across the country this summer.
Luke Combs 2025 tour dates:
May 18 Boots in the Park Albuquerque, NM
May 23 Boston Calling Boston, MA
June 12 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival Manchester, TN
July 26 Newport Folk Festival Newport, RI
July 31 Lollapalooza Chicago, IL
August 31 Jazz Aspen Snowmass Aspen, CO
October 5 Country Calling Ocean City, MD
October 23 Bootleggers Bonfire Miramar Beach, FL
